The fatality rate is an important overall measure of each state’s road performance. The nation’s highway fatality rate worsened from 1.13 in 2015, the last time this assessment was completed, to 1.18 in 2016 (Table 17, Overall Fatality Rate per 100 Million Vehicle-Miles, 2016, Figure 12). The fatality rate has increased over the last several years after a decades-long downward trend. While there is no one cause, distracted driving appears to be the biggest contributor. In 2016, 37,434 fatalities were reported, more than the 35,069 fatalities reported in 2015, as VMT (vehicle-miles of travel) increased to 3.17 trillion from 3.09 trillion in 2015. There were more fatalities in 2016 than in any year since 2007.
Overall Fatality Rate Per 100 Million Vehicle-Miles
24th Annual Highway Report
For 2016, Massachusetts reported the overall lowest fatality rate, 0.63, while South Carolina reported the highest, 1.86. Most states (31 of 50) reported an increase in their fatality rates compared to 2015, led by New Mexico, Alaska and Iowa, which worsened 0.36, 0.31 and 0.25 points, respectively. Two states’ rates were unchanged and 17 states saw their fatality rate decrease, with Montana and Wyoming reporting the largest rate decrease of 0.31 each.